Zelenskyy Revealed How Many Ballistic Missiles Russia Has
Russia currently has about 600–630 ballistic missiles and, according to Ukraine’s estimates, can produce up to 1,300 such missiles per year. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are working to reduce the capabilities of the Russian military-industrial complex and prevent Russia from building up this stockpile.
According to the President, Russia could potentially ramp up production to about 100 ballistic missiles per month. However, the Russian industry has not yet reached that pace. “I believe Russia could produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles per year. They currently have 600–630. We have a rough idea of the volume they expect to produce from now until the end of winter. They could produce about 100 ballistic missiles per month. But they don’t have that capacity yet,” Zelenskyy said.
The president noted that the Ukrainian military is working not only to intercept Russian missiles but also to reduce their production. This involves, in particular, strikes on military targets and other measures aimed at weakening Russia’s defense-industrial complex.
Zelenskyy explained that ballistic missiles remain a particularly challenging target for Ukraine’s air defense. At the same time, he said, the situation regarding cruise missiles has improved. “I cited the most alarming figure—we estimate it to be 1,300 missiles. They would like to have 100 ballistic missiles per month. That’s because we’ve started shooting down other missiles quite effectively. We’ve added both our fighter jets and the IRIS-T—we have the appropriate systems in place, and missiles specifically designed for them are arriving to counter Russian cruise missiles; the Hawk air defense system—we’re shooting down a lot of cruise missiles with it. But ballistic missiles are a different matter,” the President noted.
According to him, this is precisely why Ukraine is trying to prevent Russia from stockpiling large numbers of ballistic missiles. “We are currently working to ensure that these 1,300 don’t materialize—to reduce that number,” Zelenskyy added.
At the same time, Ukraine is working to thwart Russian plans even before large-scale missile strikes begin. The President reported that the Defense Forces are conducting special operations designed to prevent Russia from carrying out its planned attacks. “There is another area we are working on. I think you’ve noticed recently that at one point they planned an attack but didn’t carry it out. This is no coincidence,” Zelenskyy said.
He explained that these are specific, complex operations whose results are already beginning to show. “In other words, we are working to prevent them from carrying out massive missile attacks. These are specific, complex operations, and we’ve now started to see the first results—which, of course, aren’t enough yet—but this is a step in the right direction, and we’re taking action,” the President emphasized.
At the same time, Ukraine is working with its European partners to strengthen its defense against ballistic missiles. This involves the joint development of the “Freya” ballistic missile defense system, which is intended to combine Ukrainian missile technologies with European radars, sensors, and control systems. European defense companies Eurosam, Leonardo, Thales, and Saab have already joined this project. Fire Point has become the leading Ukrainian industrial partner; the company, in particular, developed the Flamingo cruise missile.
In this way, Ukraine is attempting to act on two fronts simultaneously—strengthening its defense against Russian ballistic missiles while also reducing Russia’s ability to produce and deploy new missiles. Zelenskyy announced this during a conversation with journalists.
Russia has not ruled out the theoretical possibility of an offensive from the Bryansk region toward the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. At the same time, no Russian troops have been detected in the Bryansk region along this axis at present, although the Ukrainian military has spotted Russian military equipment along the border.
Ukrainian defense forces have almost completely liberated the Dnipropetrovsk region from Russian troops. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, approximately 10 square kilometers remain under Russian control—three small villages where, as the president claims, there are virtually no Russian troops left.
